Practitioners of stand-up comedy often refer to their performances as “art.”
There’s a group in Australia that argues it’s more of a “science.”
The Steam Room scientifically breaks down the reasons people find jokes funny. Then, in a unique approach to proving their thesis, they teach scientists how to be funny. They create formulas to help scientists develop jokes. Eventually they perform their act in front of an audience, often entertainingly.
Comedy as science? Applause Break knows of several people whose grade point averages would have improved significantly if a comedy class could have been substituted for, say, chemistry.
Today’s Stand-Up Spotlight also includes an update on Trevor Noah’s next project, Kevin Smith discussing mental health recovery and an Arizona State University grad who, as a project, opened his own comedy club.
Keep the funny rolling, folks.
STAND-UP SPOTLIGHT – May 2, 2023
Five scientists walk into a theatre and try standup for the first time. Does hilarity ensue?
Yes, according to the producers of the Steam Room – a program in which comedians teach a team of scientists how to be funny. The result, after weeks of improv classes and intensive workshops, is several nights of science-inflected live comedy performed around Australia.
Click here to view original web page at The science of standup: can you train someone to be funny?
Trevor Noah Returns to Topical Comedy By Producing ‘Mock The Week’ for Amazon Freevee
Trevor Noah is moving from being in front of the camera at “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central to a weekly comedy program on Amazon Freevee that has him working behind the scenes.
The ad-supported streaming service will offer a U.S. version of the long-running British series “Mock The Week,” a half-hour program that combines elements from talk shows. stand-up comedy sessions and improv games and sets two teams of comics against each other in a bid to satirize current news events and popular culture. Noah, who left “The Daily Show” late last year, will executive produce the series, along with Dan Patterson, who helped create “Mock The Week,” which has run in the United Kingdom for more than 15 years.
Kevin Smith opens up about his mental health recovery and ‘other guy’ comedy persona
Kevin Smith is loved by fans for his comically affable, disarmingly candid persona. The Clerks star and creator (and perennial comic book nerd) has always exerted that kind of appeal: blunt, honestly funny, and gleefully geeky. His public face is among the most fan-accessible in all of entertainment.
But after suffering a 2018 heart attack only hours after recording his Silent But Deadly stand-up comedy special (watch it now on Peacock), the actor, comedian, and occasional sci-fi director began grappling with deep-seated mental issues, lingering ghosts of childhood trauma and abuse that by 2022 had ushered him toward “a weird, dark place,” as he recently confided to People.
Communication grad and comedian starts stand-up club at ASU
For Arizona State University students who aspire to be the next Dave Chappelle or Ali Wong, there’s a club here for you.
Senior Luke Rowland, a communication major at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, created Sun Devil Stand Up in the fall of 2022 to help aspiring comedians learn the basics of stand-up comedy and apply it to their joke writing.
Click here to view original web page at Communication grad and comedian starts stand-up club at ASU
